Jan Michael Vincent stars as Carrol Jo Hummer, who has just returned from Viet Nam. He marries Kay Lenz and decides to follow in his fathers footsteps and be a trucker. He gets a bank loan that gets referenced every 30 seconds throughout the film, buys a used Ford WT-9000 from a salesman in Buddy Holly glasses and a tie  purchased at Col. Sanders’ garage sale. CJ heads to a company where his fathers former partner is a dispatcher. Duane Haller is played by Slim Pickens, who memorably rode an atomic bomb being dropped on Russia in “Dr. Strangelove.” He gives Carrol Jo a load of cow shit (literally) to haul to Akron. However, along with the manure is a single box of cigarettes without tax stamps and one slot machine.  Straight arrow CJ says he won’t haul them, and demands his trailer be unloaded. Duane has them smear said load over the inside of the trailer to teach him a lesson. As Carrol Jo hits the road, a corrupt local sheriff  pulls our hero over and handcuffs him to his truck. Some badasses from the loading dock pull up in a Ranchero, and break CJ’s ribs with a 3 foot long wrench. The attack was ordered by Buck, the manager of the freight company. He’s played by perpetually smirking actor L Q Jones, you may recall him as the inflexible county commissioner in “Casino.”

Of course drama at home ensues. Wife Jerri has to work while Carrol Jo’s ribs are healing, and she reveals she’s pregnant. CJ decides his working is the only solution, as his loan payments are mentioned for the 37th time. But he’s been blackballed, no one will give him a load. Desperate, he goes back to Duane and Buck with a rifle and demands a load. CJ picks up his fathers old friend Pops Dinwiddie, who is every 70’s movie black stereotype, and off they go. Of course they send out henchmen to try to stop him, they somehow get ahead of CJ on  the two lane desert roads and we have a combination shootout/ big rig demo derby. No surprise here, CJ prevails.